Chicago White Sox

Unfortunately I don’t drink while I’m rosterbating. As such, my posts on Murakami reflect very pure & highly objective thoughts based on countless hours of research & analysis. The evidence of Murakami signing with the Sox by Monday is clear: Getz has stated they have a big need for a LH corner infielder The Sox have financial flexibility given little payroll committed to next year’s roster and what should be a moderate increase YoY due to the new TV deal The Sox have zero long term commitments and new mega rich owner coming into the fold in four years The Sox have recently hired their first ever Japanese scout Very few big market teams have a need for a 1B at this time and concerns with his bat (see below) make him a harder sell as a DH Murakami has enough warts with the bat (primarily K rate) to scare off teams that need a higher degree of certainty and will likely shrink his market some Two safer 1B options are still available to contenders in O’Hearn & Okamoto and will come much cheaper He must make a decision by Monday and none of the big money clubs have been linked to him yet directly As you can see above, the evidence that Murakami signs with the White Sox is exhaustive and we should start getting very excited this is happening.

Thanks…guessing Ellard retired to avoid any awkward moments with Murakami over numbers.

Sosa’s future with the team all comes down to where can he play on the field. As a 1B / DH, he doesn’t hit RHP well enough to be an everyday guy. As a 2B, that 101% wRC+ in the 2H against RHP would work just fine if paired with solid defense. For now, I see him as a bench piece you get into the lineup against LHP but who can also serve as a nice everyday fill-in somewhere in the event of injury. That could change with a little improvement in his BB rate or 2B defense. Until then, I’d have Meidroth be the primary 2B and give him a chance to fully prove himself before Antonacci forces his way into the infield mix. Full Season: Total: 100 wRC+ | 3.3% BB rate | 23.3% K Rate | .170 ISO | .309 BABIP vs. LHP: 103 wRC+ | 2.9% BB rate | 20.7% K rate | .164 ISO | .317 BABIP vs. RHP: 98 wRC+ | 3.5% BB rate | 24.3% K rate | .172 ISO | .306 BABIP Second Half: Total: 106 wRC+ | 3.7% BB rate | 23.5% K Rate | .203 ISO | .284 BABIP vs. LHP: 121 wRC+ | 2.9% BB rate | 17.4% K rate | .231 ISO | .280 BABIP vs. RHP: 101 wRC+ | 4.0% BB rate | 25.3% K rate | .194 ISO | .285 BABIP

Think I’m going to order my son a custom made Murakami White Sox jersey for Christmas and do so today. Just can’t risk this gets announced Monday and the site can’t make & ship in time. That jersey needs to be under the Christmas tree come hell and high water.

I’m just repeating what your link says…did you read your links?

That’s supposedly based on a 24 pitch sample this year and he was at .324 in the year before when he played a full season

Yes it was

I mean, that Ohtani guy has been pretty good

You have ruled every team but the White Sox…it has to be them at this point right? We didn’t hire our first ever scout to sign fucking Kay.

So you think we sign Murakami now?

Chase is certainly one guys that fits the narrative, but so is Antonacci and I still think one of them could end up the everyday 2B for a period of time.

He might end up being a disaster, but the power potential is insane with Murakami and proven power hitters aren’t going to come cheap. Also, Getz has added a ton of high OBP players to the org that would slot in nicely around him & Colson.

Why trade Marte to add Bergman?

There is no other solution. At some point small market fans will just lose interest and the sport will gradually die.

Out of curiosity, which teams are an actual threat for Murakami? Of the high spending teams, maybe the Red Sox? Most of the other ones are already locked in at 1B. Maybe there is a second tier team that is desperate for a 1B upgrade, but the market for a big name 1B addition looks soft right now. Again, it very much reminds of the situation when we got Abrue.

Everything I have seen has Murakami getting a lot more than Okamoto.

Different type of hitter, but lots of similarities to when we signed Abreu. With the high K rate, I assumed he’d be too risky of a signing for us, but maybe that scares off a few teams and most of the big market teams have 1B in place right that might limit his market? At minimum, it would add a fuckton of excitement for the franchise.

Yes, a salary cap / floor structure better allows small market teams to retain their talent (like QBs) because the big market teams can’t simply outspend them. I still don’t understand how you’re attributing all NFL success to head coaches and very little to QBs. Head coaches are super important no doubt, but a star QB is what really pushes a team to championship level. And market size has no bearing on a team’s ability to land a franchise QB as evident by KC, Buffalo, GB, Baltimore, etc. As for the NBA, it’s a star driven league and those that have the stars are going to be more successful than those who do not. Because of max salaries, star players can place a greater value on the competitiveness of a team and the attractiveness of the underlying city. As such, consistently good franchises like the Celtics and Lakers will have an advantage in free agency. Teams that offer a more alluring lifestyle like LA and Miami also have an advantage. That being said, the big city Bulls have failed time & time again to land stars. The big city Knicks & Nets have been atrocious for long stretches of time. Market size has some advantage in certain cases, but it’s not universal and the salary cap greatly limits its impact. Candidly, I don’t know how anyone can try to make a legit argument that the MLB has better parity than either league. The Dodgers have been gifted playoff spots for the foreseeable future because of the revenue edge they have over everyone. There are other large market clubs like the Yankees that will continue to make the playoffs almost every single year due to their elevated payrolls. It’s a completely unfair sport where the large market teams have a material competitive advantage over small market clubs and that won’t change until there is a cap & a floor and a better revenue sharing model at minimum.

100% this. There are a couple of owners abusing the revenue sharing system, but there are many other small market teams that do everything right they can control but are subject to a massive difference in revenue vs. their large market peers. I find absurd to think those owners should have to fund massive losses year after year in order to compete with the big market clubs. There is a reason the other leagues all have better parity than MLB and that’s because they use a cap & floor to ensure the major market teams don’t have a massive competitive advantage.

Now do this by market size. The NFL has without question the best parity in major sports. Yes, teams with stud QBs are going to be more successful (which is what the above highlights), but all teams regardless of market size have equal access to getting one. The NBA’s parity is also better than the MLB, but not as good as the NFL because large market teams (and Miami) do have some advantage in getting stars in free agency due to individual player caps. That being said, a small nothing market like OKC is able to form a dynasty because of the benefit of a salary cap. That simply is not possible in the MLB…TB is probably the best example of small market success and they have to battle every year and have never been able to get a World Series.

I mean, depends on what they get for him. That being said, going under $80M would be a complete embarrassment after gaining some momentum in the 2H.

The Ishbia’s are the majority owners of the White Sox right now. They may not have a controlling interest, but they have gained significant influence with their recent buy-outs and the future deal that’s in place to take over the franchise. While I certainly don’t think any major moves happen this offseason (think A tier free agents), I don’t think anyone can say with a level of certainty that we won’t see any operating changes until 2029. I believe we start seeing the Ishbia impact, even if moderate, as soon as this offseason.

Vientos is RH and is a low OBP player. Don’t think that would interest Getz much.

This is so going to be you this Christmas

Or maybe Getzy is planning to use that big new Japanese scout to pursue some big Japanese free agents…